18th Annual Palo Alto Weekly Photo Contest
Second Place, Views Beyond the Peninsula
Adult

"Old World Pacific"
By Audrey Loke

Artist's Statement

Click on photo for larger image.

This photograph was taken in Kyoto, Japan, this past December. The shot was not staged and has not been cropped or modified in Adobe Photoshop. During my relatively recent and short introduction to the study of the history, theory and practice of photography, I've learned to approach the subject with a 'painter's eye.'

While luck was important, my developing sense of formal balance and composition culminate in this photograph. Happily, I think this shot represents what Cartier Bresson meant about capturing the "decisive moment."

Judge's Comment

Audrey Loke's entrancing "Old World Pacific" stirred our curiosity. The young woman dressed as a geisha in such brilliant colors is a bold contrast to the muted grays of the people hurrying past her, barely even noticing her. Her expression is ambivalent and magnetic, leaving us wanting to know more about the woman stopped in the street.

- Veronica Webber